Railway-switch.



P. P. CATALANO.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

ABPLIGATION FILED 51111.11, 1911.

Patented July 25, 1911.

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ATTOR N EYS,

COLUMBIA PLANGORAPH CO.. WASHINGTON. D. C.

P. P. CATALANO.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION'ILED JAN. 11, 1911.

Patented July 25, 1911.

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COLUMBIA FLANOURAPH C0.. WASHINGTON' D. C.

UNTTED STATES PATENT FFTCFL.

PETER P. CATALANO, OF LAWTON STATION, NEW YORK.

RAILWAY-SVVITCH.

Application filed January 11, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that PETER P. CATALANO, citizen of the United States,residing at Lawton Station, in the county of Erie and State of New York,have invented cert-ain new and useful Improvements in Railway- Switches,of which the following` is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in railway switches which areautomatically operated from the cab of a locomotive.

lThe invention comprises a series of obstacles located adjacent to thetrack, and operatively connected to the switch rails, said obstaclesbeing so arranged that the switch rails may be shifted in eitherdirection and from either side of the switch. The obstacles are actuatedby a device carried by the locomotive cab, said device being adjust-ableto actuatethe selected obstacle.

lt is the object of the present invention to provide a mechanism of thekind stated which is simple in construction, reliable in operation, anddevoid of all complicated parts liable to get out of order and tointerfere with the proper working of the switch; and to this end theinvention consists in a novel combination and arrangement of parts to behereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure l is a plan view of a switch constructed in accordance with thepresent invention, a fragment of the locomotive cab and the mechanismcarried thereby being also shown; Fig. 2 is a side elevation; Fig. 3 isa rear end view; Fig. 4 is an enlarged rear elevation; and Fig. 5 is aside elevation of one set of the obstacles and a fragment of theactuating device carried by the cab. Fig. 6 is a plan View of the lockof the actuating device.

In the drawings, R denotes the rails of the main track, and S and T therails of the tracks branching therefrom.

l denotes an ordinary handoperated switch stand for manually actuatingthe switch rails D controlling the passage of trains from the main trackto the two branch tracks, or vice versa. The switch rails are connectedby an ordinary switch bar 2, and the latter is connected to the switchstand in the ordinary manner by means of a rod d.

On one side of the main track, a. suitable distance in advance of theswitch, are mounted bearings 7 in which is supported a Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented July 25, i911. Serial No. 602,080.

stationary shaft 8. The bearings 7 are mounted on a base 7 suitablysupported adjacent to one of the rails of the main track, on the outsidethereof. On the shaft 8 are loosely mounted two tappet arms indicated atA and B, respectively, the shaft being located so that the tappets mayswing in a vert-ical plane parallel to the main track. To each tappet isconnected a winding drum, the drum of the tappet A being indi*- cated ata, and the drum of the tappet B, at Z). These two drums are loose on theshaft 8, and rotate when the tappets are actuated. In the hub portion ofeach tappet are notches 6a, one or the other of which is adapted to beengaged by a catch 6 which is pivotally connected to the base 7 thiscatch being provided for the purpose of locking the tappets. When thetappet-s swing downwardly into horizontal position, the catches slipinto one of the notches7 and thus lock the tappets in this position, andwhen the tappets swing upwardly into vertical position, the catches slipinto the other notch and lock the tappets in this posit-ion. The catchesoperate automatically, they slipping out of one notch and into the otheras the tappets swing upwardly or downwardly. The catches are operated bya spring 6b connected thereto.

On the drum a are wound cables 9 and 1l, and on the drum o are woundcables 10 and 12. These cables are connected to the switch bar 2, sothat the latter will be moved when the cables are wound on the drums.The cable 9 extends alongside the track to a point slightly in front ofthe switch, and then crosses the track, it being led across the track byguide sheaves SVL and 9b. respectively, the sheave 92L being located onthe same side as the drum on which the cable is wound, and the sheave 9bbeing located on the opposite side of the track. The cable passes fromthe sheave 9b to a sheave 9C and from this extends to, and is made fastto one end of the switch bar 2, this end being the one which is locatedon that side of the track opposite the side on which the tappets anddrums are located. The cable 12 eX- tends and is connected to the otherend of the switch bar, and a sheave 12a is provided for guiding thelast-mentioned cable to t-he switch bar. The cable l() is spliced orotherwise connected to the cable 9, and the cable 11 is spliced orotherwise connected to the cable l2. It will be seen from the foregoingthat the switch bar will be actuated to shift the switch rails D whenthe tappets A and B are actuated. The operating position of the tappetsis a vertical one, and upon swinging them downwardly into horizontalposition, the cables connected to the drum of the tappet which is thusactuated, shift the switch bar and thus set the switch rails. Upon thedrum being rotated as stated, one of the cables is wound thereon and theother is unwound, the cable wound on the drum being the one which isconnected to that end of the switch bar in the direction of which saidbar is moving, and the cable which is unwinding being the one which isconnected to the opposite end of the switch bar. rIwo pairs of cables,together with a drum and actuating cam for each, are provided in orderthat the switch may be thrown in either direction by the device carriedby the cab of the locomotive. rilhe connection also causes one of thetappets to rise while the other one is being lowered, so that one ofsaid tappets is always in vertical position, thus enabling the engineerof the approaching train to observe the condition of the switch, so thathe may set the actuating device in the cab accordingly.

In order that the switch may also be operated from the cab if the trainis approaching the main track from either one of the branch tracks,there is located adjacent to each of said branch tracks a tappet`similar to the tappets already described, and connected to drums overwhich are wound cables which extend to and are connected to the switchbar 2. inasmuch as the passage of a train from either of the branchtracks to the main track is controlled by the movement of the switchrails in one direction only, but one tappet and drum are provided foreach branch track. The tappet of the branch track S is indicated at A,the drum thereof at a, and the two cables at 18 and 14, respectively,one of said cables being connected to one end of the switch bar, and theother cable to the other end thereof, suitable sheaves being providedfor guiding the cables to said ends of the switch bar.

The tappet of the branch track T is indicated at B, the drum at and thecables at 15 and 16, respectively, these cables being also connected,respectively, to opposite ends of the switch bar, they being guidedthereto by suitable sheaves.

The tappets A and B and the parts associated therewith are mounted inthe saine manner as the tappets A and B and their associate parts.

inasmuch as the several tappets are all connected to the switch bar 2,it will be seen that the movement of one of the tappets to shift theswitch bar is transmitted to each one of the other tappets, so that saidtappets will always be positioned to indicate the condition of theswitch. Thus, if the tappet B is swung downwardly, the switch bar 2 willbe actuated to shift the switch rails D to the full line position shownin Fig. 1, in which position the main track is connected to the branchtrack T. Then the tappet B swings downwardly, as stated, the tappet Arises, which will indicate to the engineer of the next train approachingthe switch that the same is set for the branch track T. lf this nexttrain is to take the branch track S, the engineer will set the actuatingdevice in the cab so that it will engage the tappet A, thus shifting theswitch rails to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, and openingthe branch track S to the main track. Then the tappet` A is depressed,as stated, the tappet B rises, thus again indicating to the engineer ofthe next train the condition of the switch. 1n the first-describedposition of t-he switch, the tappet A will be in elevated position, sothat the engineer of a train approaching the main track from the branchtrack S, may observe the condition of the switch, and act accordingly.In the second-mentioned posit-ion, the tappet A would be down, whichwould indicate to the engineer that the switch was already in a positionto enable the train to pass from the branch track S to the main track.The tappet B also assumes a position which enables the engineer of atrain approaching the main track from the branch track T to observe thecondition of the switch, said tappet being in upright position when theswitch is in the dotted line position shown in TFig. 1, and said tappetbeing in horizontal position when the switch is in the full lineposition, in which position the main track is open to the branch trackS.

rlhe` device for actuating the tappets coinprises a vertical stem 3carried by the cab C of the locomotive, and passing through the floorthereof. To the lower end of the stein is rigidly secured a shoe havingbranches 3 and 3b arranged at right angles to eachy other and projectinghorizontally from the stein. The stem is so located that itmay passbetween the tappets A and B, and the stem is also rotatable so that theshoe may be positioned to strike the tappets. If it is desired that thebranch 3b strike the tappet- B, the stem will be rotated so as to placesaid branch in the position shown in Fig. 1, in which position thetappet B is in the path of said branch, and the branch 3a is in aposition to pass the tappet A without actuating the saine. If it isdesired to actuate the tappet A, the stem will be given a quarterrevolution, whereupon the branch 3a is swung in a position to engage thesaid tappet, and the shoe 3b is placed in a position to clear the tappetB. The engineer can therefore readily place the rod in a position toactuate the desired tappet.

Tappets A and B are also actuated by the herein described cab device.

The rod 3 is stiifened by braces 5 which are fastened to the undersideof the floor of the cab, and its upper end is provided with a handle 4.A suitable locking device 4a is also provided for holding the rod inadjusted position. The rod is held at a proper height by means of a setcollar lb thereon engaging the floor of the cab, as shown in F ig. 2.

I claim:

l. In a railway switch, the combination with main and branch tracks,switch rails controlling the same, and a bar connecting said switchrails; of a horizontal shaft mounted adjacent to the main track and inadvance of the switch, a pair of drums supported by said shaft, a tappetarm connected to each drum, a pair of cables wound on each drum, themembers of each pair beine` connected, respectively, to opposite ends ofthe aforesaid switch bar, and an actuating device carried by the cab ofthe locomotive and adjustable to engage either one of the aforesaidtappets.

2. In railway switch, the combination with main and branch tracks,switch rails controlling the same, and a bar connecting said switchrails; of a horizontal shaft mounted adjacent to the main track and inadvance of the switch, a pair of drums supported by said shaft, a tappetarm connected to each drum, a pair of cables wound on each drum, themembers of each pair being connected, respectively, to opposite ends ofthe aforesaid switch bar, a drum and .tappetmounted adjacent to thebranch track in advance of the switch, a pair of cables wound on saiddrum, and connected, respectively, to opposite ends of the switch bar,and an actuating device carried by the cab of the locomotive andadjustable to engage either one of the aforesaid tappets.

3. In a railway switch, the combination with main and branch tracks, aswitch controlling the same, and a pair of tappets located adjacent tothe main track, and operatively connected to the switch; of a switchactuating device carried by the cab of a locomotive, said devicecomprising a rotatable rod depending from the cab and passing betweenthe tappets, and a shoe mounted on the lower end of the rod, said shoehaving branches extending horizontally from the rod at an angle to eachother and being adjustable by rotation of the rod to engage the tappets,said shoe in one of its positions having one of its branches in aposition to engage one of the tappets, and the other branch in aposition to clear the other tappet, and in another position thelast-mentioned branch engaging the lastmentioned tappet, and thefirst-mentioned branch clearing the rst-mentioned tappet.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PETER P. CATALANO.

Witnesses:

FRANK CATALANO, LILLIAN B. HUTCHINSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

